Ski-renovating tool

ABSTRACT

A ski-sharpening and surface-renovating unitary tool consisting of a strong, rigid, one-piece handle, having a grip at each end, and having three abrading surfaces, one longer abrading surface being placed just below and at right angles to two shorter abrading surfaces whereby the longer surface and at least one of the smaller surfaces can be simultaneously utilized to renovate the bottom surface of a ski and a metal edge of a ski, respectively. All of the scraping surfaces are of hard metal and the shorter surfaces are both detachably fixed to the longer surface for removal for sharpening.

United States Paten Wainwright, J r, 1 l'reb. 22, W7

[54] SKI-RENOVATING TUUIL 1,364,885 1/1921 Morrison ..30/313 X [72] Inventor: Albert V. Wainwright, Jr., 35 Lakeshore Primary ExamineFAndrew R. Juhasz Nabnasset Mass 01861 Assistant ExaminerMichael Koczo, Jr. [22] Filed; Oct 8, 19 9 AttorneyPearson & Pearson [211 App]. No.: 864,667 57 AEsTRACT A ski-sharpening and surface-renovating unitary tool consist- [52] US. Cl. ..30/ 172, 15/236 R, 280/1 1.37 T ing of a strong, rigid, one-piece handle, having a grip at each [51] ..A63c 111/06, B27g 17/04 end, and having three abrading surfaces, one longer abrading [58] FieldofSearch ..15/236; 280/1137 T; 30/169, Surface being placed just below and at right angles to two 30/172 231 312, 313 shorter abrading surfaces whereby the longer surface and at least one of the smaller surfaces can be simultaneously utilized [56] References Cited to renovate the bottom surface of a ski and a metal edge of a ski, respectively. All of the scraping surfaces are of hard metal UNITED STATES PATENTS and the shorter surfaces are both detachably fixed to the longer surface for removal for sharpening. 568,160 9/1896 Brock 145/1 832,255 10/ 1906 Gruber ..30/313 X 7 Claims, 3 Drawing lFigures SKI-RENOVATING TOOL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Skis generally require constant maintenance in order to provide an optimum degree of maneuverability and safety, when in use. This maintenance includes keeping the metal edges of the skis sharp, and also scraping the bottom coating of the skis in order to remove accumulation of wax, smooth out patches of fiber glass repair material, minimize the effect of scratches, etc.

Any tool practical for achieving this maintenance should be usable without undue interference with the bindings on the ski, and should take a minimum of time, i.e., the time required should not be such as to discourage use of the instrument between runs or even after a days skiing. Moreover, the tool should be easily manipulated by the average person generally unskilled in the handling of tools; a degree of autocontrol possessed by the tool is highly desirable.

A number of instruments have been developed for use in ski sharpening, but none seem to have been designed with all the aforementioned problems in mind. For example, the combined ski file and chamber block disclosed by Luff in US. Pat. No. 3,391,946 is adapted for filing one side edge of a ski, but is not useful in renovating both the side and bottom metal edges and the bottom surface of the ski. Moreover, this block is designed for one hand operation, and, from a practical point of view, this limits the amount of force that can safely be exerted by a user. Another ski scraper disclosed in US. Pat. No. 3,041,650 to Day is primarily a ski bottom cleaning, rather than an edge sharpening and surface-renovating, tool.

There are, of course, many different types of single face files, cutters, routers and planes designed for special carpentry purposes, and which have long been known, but such devices require the special skill of experienced carpenters and would be likely to ruin a ski in the hands of the average skier. It is believed that no such known tool is equipped with a pair of inside right angular renovating edges, capable of simultaneously sharpening both walls of a comer-metal edge and the bottom face of a ski as in the tool of this invention. Among the two handled tools of the above type are the files and scrapers disclosed in US. Pat. Nos. 1,006,820 to Adams, 1,323,899 to Mullin, and 3,284,898 to Hopkins, none of which would be suitable for renovating a ski.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, it is a principle object of the invention to provide an improved ski-renovating tool.

Another object of the invention is to provide a ski-renovat ing tool which provides means for both sharpening the edges and renovating the bottom of the ski with a minimum number of work strokes.

Another object of the invention is to provide a ski-renovating tool having a measure of self-regulating scraping action.

A further object of the invention is to provide a ski-renovating tool having a novel cutting or renovating surface which maximizes the efficiency of the tool.

Other objects of the invention will be obvious to those skilled in the art on reading the instant application.

The above objects have been substantially achieved by a novel ski-renovating tool which comprises a plurality of scraping surfaces mounted on a handle and wherein the surfaces include two relatively short scraping surfaces adapted for engaging the outer surfaces of metal ski edges and a longer scraping surface which is normal to, and mounted below, said vertical scraping surfaces so that it can engage the bottom of a ski while one of the shorter scraping surfaces is being used to sharpen the outer surface of the metal edges.

This feature, whereby at least two surfaces are renovated at once, is particularly advantageous because it allows an operator to exert a strong angular force which tends to keep the scraping surfaces in proper alignment without danger of the tool slipping off the ski or assuming a position that will allow cutting edges on the scraping surfaces to dig into the ski.

Normally, the relatively short scraping surfaces will be positioned somewhat further apart than the width of a ski requires and the ski-renovating operation will be carried out with two strokes: one stroke with the left vertical scraping surface against the ski, and a second stroke with the right vertical scraping surface against the ski. Thus constructed, the tool of the invention can avoid any interference with projections from ski bindings and can be used with skis of widely varying widths.

It has been found particularly advantageous to utilize scraping surfaces which are of a shallow, concave, grooved configuration with a cutting edge at either end of the surface. The concave groove increases the sharpness: of the cutting edges while being useful for collecting shavings or scrapings which otherwise might dig into the ski or tend to throw the tool out of alignment. Moreover, it has been found that one cutting edge will wear somewhat faster than the other, so, by swapping the elements comprising the right and left scraping surfaces, the life of the tool can be extended somewhat before sharpening is required.

It is preferred to use a handle which extends laterally beyond each of the lateral scraping surfaces. This allows the operator to exert safely whatever force is required in the renovating operation.

The tool of the invention may be constructed from many well known materials of construction. Aluminum is a convenient material for the handle in that is strong, rigid, and lighter in weight than other metals. However, where the tool may be used primarily out of doors in cold surroundings, a material of lower thermal conductivity, e.g., a rigid plastic, may be more desirable because it can be gripped more comfortably with bare hands. Scraping surfaces should be of hard metals because they must be able to wear well against the steel edges of the skis.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows the tool of the invention in operating relationship with a ski;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the tool of the invention; and

FIG. 3 is a section through the midfront of the tool of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIG. ll, it is seen that the unitary tool 10 of the invention consists of a strong, rigid, elongated, one-piece handle 11, with a grip at each end, and on which are mounted two relatively short side scraper elements 12, and a relatively long scraper element 14 mounted below and normal to elements 12. Elements 112 and M are attached to handle It with screws 116 so that they may be readily removed when replacement or sharpening is required. Long element 14 is juxtaposed to the handle 111, in the portion thereof between the grips.

Each scraper element comprises a scraping surface 118. Each scraping surface 18 comprises two cutting edges 20, one at each end thereof, and a shallow concave groove separating the cutting edges.

The depth 24 of cutting edges 20 is adequate to cover the metal edge along the side of the ski. In practice, it is advantageously from about 0.375 inches to about 0.625 inches.

The width 26 of the cutting edge on the longer scraping surface 114 is somewhat more arbitrary, but a width of about 3.75 inches to about 5 inches appears to be adequate.

It should be noted that the distance between the projecting side edge sharpening elements 12 is greater than the width of a conventional ski 28, so that one metal comer edge 30, plus the entire width of bottom 32, can be renovated by a downward stroke of the tool It), with a gap 33 at the other side edge 34. The tool I0 is then'moved sidewise, so that a downward stroke will renovate the side edge 34 while forming a gap at edge 30 and again renovating the entire width of bottom 32.

The inside, right angular renovating, or sharpening, walls of tool are designated 36 and 38, and each is formed by the elongated bottom cutter l4 and the adjacent perpendicular cutting wall of the side scrapers 12. Each side scraper element 12 is mounted in a seat 40, and abuts a shoulder 42, at each opposite end of bottom scraper 14, so that the tightening of bolts 16 prevents any twisting of the side scrapers during use.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained,

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

What is claimed is:

1. A unitary ski-renovating tool having a strong, rigid, onepiece handle with a grip at each end and a plurality of scraping surfaces of hard metal fixed on said handle, each with a cutting edge along each side thereof, said surfaces including two relatively short vertical scraping surfaces and one relatively long scraping surface normal to and mounted just below said relatively short scraping surface, said long surface being juxtaposed to said handle along the portion thereof between said grips.

2. A ski-renovating tool as described in claim 1, wherein:

said short scraping surfaces are detachable from said longer surface and handle for sharpening thereof.

3. A ski-renovating tool as described in claim I, wherein at least one scraping surface is of a shallow, concave grooved configuration with said cutting edge at each end thereof and said long scraping surface includes a pair of seats, each for one of said short surfaces for preventing the twisting thereof.

4. A unitary ski-renovating tool comprising an elongated one-piece, strong, rigid handle having a pair of handle grips, each at an opposite end thereof and an intermediate portion between said grips,

an elongated, ski bottom scraper extending along said intermediate portion of said handle and supported thereon, said scraper having hard metal cutting edges at each said thereof and a pair of ski, metal corner edge sharpeners, each extending normal to said ski bottom scraper at one of the opposite ends of said scraper and each forming an inside, right angular sharpening edge therewith said corner edge sharpeners being fixed against movement on said tool and spaced apart a predetermined distance from each other.

5. A ski-renovating tool as specified in claim 4, wherein:

said elongated ski bottom scraper and said pair of corner edge sharpeners are all separate but formed of the same hard metal material having the same shallow, concave groove cross sectional configuration.

6. A ski-renovating tool as specified in claim 4, wherein:

said tool includes detachable threaded elements connecting said comer edge sharpeners through said bottom scraper to said handle,

whereby all of said elements may be quickly detached for resharpening and reassembly.

7. A ski-renovating tool as specified in claim 4, wherein:

said elongated ski bottom scraper includes a seat and shoulder at each said opposite end, and

said corner edge sharpeners are each mounted within a seat and abutting a shoulder of said shank,

whereby said comer edge sharpeners are fixed against twisting during use. 

1. A unitary ski-renovating tool having a strong, rigid, onepiece handle with a grip at each end and a plurality of scraping surfaces of hard metal fixed on said handle, each with a cutting edge along each side thereof, said surfaces including two relatively short vertical scraping surfaces and one relatively long scraping surface normal to and mounted just below said relatively short scraping surface, said long surface being juxtaposed to said handle along the portion thereof between said grips.
 2. A ski-renovating tool as described in claim 1, wherein: said short scraping surfaces are detachable from said longer surface and handle for sharpening thereof.
 3. A ski-renovating tool as described in claim 1, wherein at least one scraping surface is of a shallow, concave grooved configuration with said cutting edge at each end thereof and said long scraping surface includes a pair of seats, each for one of said short surfaces for preventing the twisting thereof.
 4. A unitary ski-renovating tool comprising an elongated one-piece, strong, rigid handle having a pair of handle grips, each at an opposite end thereof and an intermediate portion between said grips, an elongated, ski bottom scraper extending along said intermediate portion of said handle and supported thereon, said scraper having hard metal cutting edges at each said thereof and a pair of ski, metal corner edge sharpeners, each extending normal to said ski bottom scraper at one of the opposite ends of said scraper and each forming an inside, right angular sharpening edge therewith said corner edge sharpeners being fixed against movement on said tool and spaced apart a predetermined distance from each other.
 5. A ski-renovating tool as specified in claim 4, wherein: said elongated ski bottom scraper and said pair of corner edge sharpeners are all separate but formed of the same hard metal material having the same shallow, concaVe groove cross sectional configuration.
 6. A ski-renovating tool as specified in claim 4, wherein: said tool includes detachable threaded elements connecting said corner edge sharpeners through said bottom scraper to said handle, whereby all of said elements may be quickly detached for resharpening and reassembly.
 7. A ski-renovating tool as specified in claim 4, wherein: said elongated ski bottom scraper includes a seat and shoulder at each said opposite end, and said corner edge sharpeners are each mounted within a seat and abutting a shoulder of said shank, whereby said corner edge sharpeners are fixed against twisting during use. 